Suicide Bombing Threatens Sri Lankan Peace Process ; Separatist Rebels Said Monday That They Are Ready to Resume Fighting against the Government

Article excerpt

A suicide bombing here that left the bomber and four policemen
dead has raised serious doubts about peace efforts with separatist
rebels.

The attack last week - at a police station next to the prime
minister's official residence - was the first suicide bombing since
the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
signed a cease-fire agreement in 2002.

The Tamil Tigers denied any involvement, claiming that the attack
was an effort to discredit them and derail the peace process. But
few believe this argument, pointing to the fact that the Tigers are
the only organization in the country that has carried out suicide
attacks.

The blast has shaken the confidence of Sri Lankans in the
Norwegian-brokered peace process and brought into question the
LTTE's commitment to find a political solution to the 20-year ethnic
conflict that has claimed nearly 70,000 lives.

Some analysts say the government and the majority Sinhala
community suspect that the LTTE, frustrated by lack of progress in
peace talks, is trying to free itself of the cease-fire's
constraints.

But the Tigers say that they are keen to hold talks and discuss a
proposal of interim self-governance. They argue that the Sri Lankan
armed forces are undermining the cease-fire agreement by providing
shelter to renegade rebel leader Colonel Karuna, who broke from the
Tigers in March.

"I don't think they are keen on breaking the cease-fire," says
Pakiyasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Center for
Policy Alternatives here. "At the same time, they are also keen to
be able to show that they will not be totally silent and
unresponsive to what they consider to be provocations."

The female suicide bomber was initially caught while she was
trying to meet a senior minister and leader of a Tamil political
party, the Eelam People's Democratic Party, Douglas Devananda, in
his office. Mr. Devananda, who has survived a dozen attempts on his
life, has been encouraging the rebel Karuna to join politics.

"We cannot achieve anything without being in the political
mainstream," says Devananda in an interview. "The armed struggle has
only brought misery to Tamils."

The woman detonated her bomb as she was brought into the police
station. …